Händel’s MESSIAH SING 2025
Sunday, April 13, 2025 | 3 PM
Valley Presbyterian Church
21 W. Whisconier Rd., Brookfield, CT
In a celebration of the enduring power of classical music, we proudly announce the much-anticipated, annual Händel’s Messiah Sing on Sunday, April 13, 2025 at 3:00 PM, a tour de force with our friends at Valley Music Series. This iconic oratorio, composed by George Frideric Händel in 1741, continues to captivate audiences worldwide with its profound beauty and timeless message. Händel’s Messiah is a monumental work that transcends the boundaries of time and culture. Renowned for its majestic choruses, stirring arias, and uplifting spirituality, this masterpiece remains a cornerstone of the holiday season and a cherished tradition for music lovers everywhere. This annual choral sing-in has a more relaxed environment than our usual performances. All one needs is a love of choral music and a willingness to have a fun afternoon of singing led by Maestro Knapp!
Whether you’re a singer or a classical music aficionado our annual sing-ins are for you! This is a great opportunity for all singers to join the chorus for the day; or for classical music lovers to come enjoy an afternoon of listening to the beautiful music of Händel! Stellar vocal soloists include Michelle Trovato, soprano; Alexa Devlin, mezzo-soprano; Nicholas Simpson, tenor and Hans Tashjian, bass-baritone. The very talented Linda Sweetman-Waters, is the organ accompanist.
There is a $20 suggested donation at the door to attend/sing. You may bring your own music or borrow a score at the door. In the spirit of generosity as demonstrated by Händel’s lifelong support of the UK’s first children’s charity, we will donate proceeds received at the door to ARC- Association of Religious Communities in Danbury, CT … an organization with a mission “to alleviate the causes of violence, suffering and hate, while advancing peace, justice and human dignity” while working towards preventing poverty, homelessness, and domestic violence in our community.
Join us to enjoy beautiful music and support the important work of this organization, too! If you enjoy the magnificent music of Händel, come sing with us or sit and listen to one of the greatest choral works of all time. One way or the other, you’re in for a very special experience. From the exhilarating “Hallelujah” chorus to the poignant “Amen” finale, everyone in attendance will be swept away by the emotional depth and musical brilliance of Handel’s composition.
About the Program
Händel’s MESSIAH SING 2025
Sunday, April 13, 2025 – 3PM
Nexus Vocal Soloists:
Alexa Devlin, mezzo-soprano
Michelle Trovato, soprano
Nicholas Simpson, tenor
Hans Tashjian, bass-baritone
Accompanist: Linda Sweetman-Waters, organ
Conductor: Eric Dale Knapp
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About Händel’s Messiah:
Händel composed Messiah, an English language oratorio that traces the story of Jesus Christ, in 1741. Messiah was first performed in Dublin on 13 April 1742 and received its London premiere nearly a year later. After an initially modest public reception, the oratorio gained in popularity and eventually became one of the best-known and most frequently performed choral pieces in Western music. The ‘Hallelujah’ chorus is one of the most famous pieces of Baroque choral music and the most widely known section of the work. Though it was originally written for Easter, Händel’s eminently singable Messiah has also become a mainstay of the festive season. Celebrate Easter by experiencing the story of Christ through one of the greatest choral works of all time – Händel’s Messiah.
Why the name?
First things first: Messiah or The Messiah? Not wanting to be pedantic, it’s absolutely the first – Messiah – without the definite article. That’s how Handel named this masterpiece for chorus, orchestra and vocal soloists, and the ‘floating’, abstract nature of the title says a thing or two about Händel’s equally floating, abstract concept. Messiah didn’t have anything like the kind of plot Händel’s audiences were used to in his operas or even his biblical oratorios. It pretty much coined a new genre – part German Passion, part English church anthem, part Italian opera. And for Händel, all that ambiguity proved rather convenient …
Need to know:
Messiah was born when Händel’s experimental nature was confronted with the fickle, changing tastes of London audiences and the politics of the English church. Italian opera was losing popularity fast, but the public still loved a good biblical story. The Bishop of London had forbidden performances of works with religious overtones on London stages so Händel decided to write a work for concert performance in a church.
Händel deliberately kept the dramatic content of his Messiah understated – it was in church after all. He created a piece based on three concepts: the story of the nativity and its prophecy; that of the crucifixion and redemption of mankind; and a commentary on the Christian soul and its victory over death. In each of these three parts, the chorus is absolutely at the heart of the work, complemented by four vocal soloists and an orchestra.
Those forces deliver some of Händel’s most heart-stopping music – gobsmackingly dramatic and effective, profoundly touching and spiritual. He used all his old tricks and learned some new (pretty good) ones too. Händel composed Messiah in just 24 days without getting much sleep and or eating much food. While writing the ‘Hallelujah’ chorus Händel’s servant discovered him with tears in his eyes, and he exclaimed, “I did think I did see all Heaven before me, and the great God Himself seated on His throne, with His Company of Angels.”
About the Artists:
Michelle Trovato, soprano, is delighted to return to sing Messiah in Connecticut, after appearing in the state last season in Dan Forrest’s breath of life and Monteverdi’s Vespers with the Connecticut Choral Society. Other 2024 highlights include Violetta in La Traviata, Clint Borzoni’s new opera La Callas, and as soprano soloist in Mozart’s Coronation Mass. She also appeared with the New York Philharmonic Chorus for the opera Émigré (recently broadcast on PBS) and Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony. Coming up, Michelle makes her Carnegie Hall debut in Verdi’s Messa da Requiem with The Choral Society of Grace Church of New York and as Miriam in R. Nathaniel Dett’s oratorio The Ordering of Moses with Grace Chorale of Brooklyn.
Other credits include: Seattle Opera, Opera Colorado, Utah Festival Opera, the Caramoor Festival, Brooklyn Philharmonic, Philharmonic of Southern New Jersey, Jackson Symphony, Spokane Symphony, Stamford Symphony, Symphonic Orchestra of Tirana (Albania), the Crimea Philharmonic Orchestra (Ukraine), Opera Les Azuriales (France), and the Kennedy Center.
ALEXA DEVLIN, mezzo-soprano, bridges the genres between opera and musical theatre with ease. She has been lauded as “show- stopping”, a “powerhouse vocally”, a “seemingly faultless mezzo” with “impeccable timing, her voice a penetrating megaphone.” Her favorite roles include Adelaide (Guys and Dolls), Annie Oakley (Annie Get Your Gun), Babe Williams (The Pajama Game), Katisha (The Mikado), Reno Sweeney (Anything Goes), Suzuki (Madama Butterfly), and more. Alexa has been a resident company member of Victor Herbert Renaissance Project Live, NY Gilbert and Sullivan Players, The Ohio Light Opera, and Lyrique-en-Mer. Hailing from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania originally, Devlin now resides in Manhattan, and is a proud graduate of Carnegie Mellon University.
NICHOLAS SIMPSON, tenor, has been praised by Opera News for his performances which “immediately seized attention with his full- bodied, brightly projected voice.” An award-winning tenor, Nicholas’ singing has taken him to all seven continents in repertoire stretching from Broadway to opera. His roles include Cavaradossi in Tosca (Maryland Symphony), Charles II in Prince of Players (Little Opera Theatre of NY), Tannhäuser (Apotheosis Opera), Kronprinz in Silent Night (Fort Worth Opera), as well as Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly (Orchestra of St Peter by the Sea). When he performed the role of Paul in Korngold’s Die Tote Stadt with Cleveland Opera, Cleveland Classical noted that he was “… splendid, negotiating a punishingly high and demanding vocal line with strength and agility.”
In 2015, Mr. Simpson became the first tenor to sing the title role in the Dresden version of Wagner’s Tannhäuser in New York City since 1966. Mr. Simpson was named the Grand Prize Winner of the MIOpera competition in Chicago in early 2020. In July of 2021, Nicholas made his Lincoln Center debut as with Teatro Nuovo, and was praised by the New York Times for his “bright sound and expansive lyricism,” and by Opera Wire as a “fantastic young tenor at his best, combining compelling acting with technical virtuosity.” Recent and upcoming credits include a return to Lincoln Center with Teatro Nuovo to sing Erisso in Maometto II, and sang the title role in Lohengrin in a Vocal showcase with the Metropolitan Opera Guild and Wagner Society of New York. In May 2024, Nicholas reprised the role of Almaviva in The Barber of Seville with Opéra Louisiane, and will further reprise the role with Druid City Opera in 2025. He also made a return engagement to Carnegie Hall, singing the tenor solo in the world premiere of Loretta Notareschi’s Climate Mass. He was also featured an opera showcase as Samson in Samson et Dalila in New York City, and performed Cavaradossi in Tosca with Teatro Lirico D’Europa and Spotlight on Opera at Tulsa Opera.
Recent engagements for bass-baritone Hans Tashjian include a debut with Heartbeat Opera in Slaylem, a return to Opera Essentia as Hercules in Admeto, and an appearance with St. Petersburg Opera as Dr. Dulcamara in Pinocchio. Other 2024-25 performances include two premieres: Schiele in Prison with the Neue Gallery and State of the Jews with American Opera Projects, Handel’s Radamisto with Opera Essentia, a solo recital called Memento Mori, featuring Mussorgsky’s Songs and Dances of Death, and a return to the Ukrainian Contemporary Music Festival as a soloist.
Recent highlights include appearances with the Metropolitan Opera for Don Carlo, Hamlet, and Rigoletto, Opera Baltimore as Méphistophélès in Faust, Teatro Nuovo as Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia, and Houston Grand Opera as Billy in the world premiere of The Snowy Day.